Credit: Ishara S. Kodikara) / AFP
From disinformation campaigns to soaring scepticism, plummeting trust and economic slumps, the global media landscape has been hit with blow after blow.
World News Day, taking place on Saturday with the support of hundreds of organisations including AFP, aims to raise awareness about the challenges endangering the hard-pressed industry.
– ‘Broken business model’ –
In 2022, UNESCO warned that “the business model of the news media is broken”.
Advertising revenue — the lifeline of news publications — has dried up in recent years, with Internet giants such as Google and Facebook owner Meta soaking up half of that spending, the report said.
Meta, Amazon and Google’s parent company Alphabet alone account for 44 percent of global ad spend, while only 25 percent goes to traditional media organisations, according to a study by the World Advertising Research Center.
Platforms like Facebook “are now explicitly deprioritising news and political content”, the Reuters Institute’s 2024 Digital News Report pointed out.
Traffic from social to news […]
When you consider that the average American adult has an 8th grade reading level, why would you expect that he would care to read a paper? And look at all the people who look to social medial for news? Is that nuts or what?
Our country is definitely in an educational decline and until we keep electing more and more Dems who actually care about education and want students to learn, have breakfast and lunch at school and vote for FUNDS for schools, we will continue to slide down the ignorance slope. People aren’t really using their phones for learning, but for gossip and silly things. America has to go back to really educating our students and cut out the stupid part of banning books and altering historical facts. It is a shame what is happening to this country.
While I agree with a lot of what you say about education I disagree that all social media and alternative news sources are flawed. Some seem to believe that the liberal media and liberals in general have a superior point of view than those of us without a college degree and we are less capable of understanding the world or having valid opinions if it is contrary to the mainstream liberal views. By the way, I use my phone to gather different opinions and listen to discussions/podcasts with credentialed people that might not be acceptable in the “papers”. Oh, I’m old so I don’t bother with TikTok or anything on a Meta platform.
Orwell said, “I n an age when lying is pervasive, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
I could not even put an anti-Trump article in our local paper!
You are right on the m0ney with your comment, Stephan!
P.S.: I cannot even get my car inspected because my usual car inspector died, and his son is in control and is a Trumper!